Insole



F. S. MEES Jan. 4, 1938.

INSOLE,

Filed June 11, 1935 7 444 2 5550 ragga Patented Jan. 4, 1938 l Claims.

This invention relates to insoles for use in women's shoes and consists in an improved method for producing an insole of extreme flexibility having the property of remaining flat under the I foot of the wearer in wear even though it may be subjected to extreme and repeated flexing for long periods. Various expedients have been attempted with a view to increasing the inherent quality of flexilil bility of the insole in order to make the shoe more comfortable and'easier upon the foot of the wearer but in many cases the resulting insole has lost its capacity to remain flat and permits the formation of transverse ridges or wrinkles which 15 become extremely uncomfortable to the wearer. i ,The method of my invention solves this problem. and by it an insole may be produced which is of great flexibility, lightness and which remains flat beneath the foot of, the wearer under all con- 9 ditions.

entirely practical from'the standpoint of modern shoemaklng practice and may be carried out economically, rapidly and without requiring special skill on the part of the operator.- 9 My invention is characterized'by two or more cooperative steps which may be carried out upon the sole while the latter is maintained in the same position and, if desired, as simultaneous operations. It is proposed in the first place to provide one surface of the sole with a band or zone of parallel grooves or corrugations and to form a central cut-out within this band or 'zone for the reception of a fibrous insert. optional step it is proposed to perforate the forepart of the sole by a multiplicity of, holes distributed over a includes at least, in part the grooved or corrugated band. Thus the grooves or corrugations have the effect of rendering the insole flexi- 40 ble, while the removal of 1 equipped with a die so constructed and arranged that it may be used for carrying out the three characteristic operations above discussed, al-

55 though it will be understood that my invention is not limited to this or to any other type of specific apparatus, 1 have shown the press, however, as equipped with a paper backing strip and I be- I lleve that never before has the operation of cor-. no rugating or grooving an insole been performed Moreover, the method of my invention is As a 'further and defined area therein, which area the material for the cutout eliminates the possibility of forming ridges or it, and also to prevent forms while the insole is backed up b y a paper strip orthat perforating and corrugating operations have been heretofore performed simultaneously upon an insole or performed while the insole is maintained in the same position. I am, therefore. defining my invention understanding that any suitable apparatus may performing the steps defined in the I manner stated. I

in method terms with; the.

be used for carrying it out which is capable of The invention will best understood and set preciatedfrom thefollowing description of illus- 'tratlve apparatus and of soles of a preferred type. selected for. purposes of illustration only andshownin theaccompanying drawing. in which. g

in perspective of portions ofa l Fig.1 is a view press showings solo in operative position therein:

Fig. 2 is aview an insole before treatment;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of after treatment and Fig. 4 is a sectional of the insole in a shoe. In the accompanying insole of ray-invention as of leather or composition material-and ofa'type in. perspective of .a portion of: a portion of a.sole

it may be constructed view showing the position man; I have shown the adapted-particularly for use in the -.;Compo" or any sewed type of shoe, I is not. limited to anyspeciflc material or in its application to any particular type of shoe.

on its lower or outer. face with a series of transverse parallel grooves ranged with uniform spacing in a-zone which includes the ball portion of the sole. The grooves 25 may be of any desired depth andimay be formed by pressure or although the invention or corrugations 2! arby cutting according as to which method is best adapted to the material employed in the insole. As herein shown the grooves aresomewhat more than half the thickness of the insole in depth and their ge'neral effect is to render, the insole extremely flexible for bending in either direction throughout the zone which they occupy.

The insole is also provided with a series of perforations 26 and these perforations are shown as located within the zone of the grooves 25. uni- .formly spaced from each other and arranged in a centrally located group between the two margins of the insole. The purpose of these perforations is to lighten the insole,.to increase its flexibility and to improve the ventilating and cushioning characteristics of the shoe in which the insole'is used. While the perforations It, as herein shown are located entirely within the zone of the grooves 25, this is a matter of design and the perforations may be located in the insole wherever they are most effective.

, In addition to the perforations 28. the insole is provided with a large central cut-out 21. herein 3i}v The insole 24 is shown in Fig. 3 as provided shown as being of circular outline and located midway between the edges of the insole. The cut-out 21, not only lightens the insole but has been found particularly effective in preventing the formation of ridges and wrinkles under wear. It also serves to retain a felt insert 28, which -is a part of the complete insole. While I prefer to make this cut-out circular in outline, a cut-out of any curved contour would be within the scope of the invention.

The operations of forming the grooves 25, the perforations 26 and the cut-out 21 may of course, be performed successively upon the insole, but I contemplate a novel method in which they are performed while the sole is maintained in the same position. One form of apparatus satisfacs tory for this work is shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing. It comprises a press including a stationary head it, having a flat pressure face and a movable bed plate ii, carrying the die mechanism. A die plate i2 is bolted upon the bed plate and provided with a pair of similar die blocks i3 in each of which is formed a series of parallel ribs or blades I. These extend transversely of the press and are closely arranged with uniform spacing. Scattered throughout the die block is a series of tubular punches i5 which are arranged in staggered relation in a centrally disposed group with their cutting edges located in a plane slightly above the plane of the ribs ll. Each of the punch tubes I5 is complete in its periphery and some of the tubes are located in alignment with ribs I, while others are spaced between adjacent ribs, that is to say, the location-of the punch tubeswith reference to the ribs issuch that in the finished sole some of the perforations 26, are intersected by the grooves 25, while others are located substantially between adjacent grooves. Each die block is also provided with a circular cut-out die i6, which isv centrally located and arranged with its cutting edge in substantially the same plane as the cutting edges of the punch tubes ii.

The movable bed plate is provided also with a sauge and stripper plate il, having apertures to clear the die blocks I4, and being yieldingly mounted to support the previously formed insole blank normally in a plane above the die block. The plate II is provided with side gauge pins I! which are adjustable to accommodate soles of different widths, and with adjustable heel gauges, 20, which determine the longitudinal position of the soles with respect to the die blocks and so bring the selected area of the forepart above the die block i3.

The press is provided with mechanism for feeding a paper strip 22, intermittently across the pressure face of the head iii. The paper backing thus provided not only insures clean cutting of the punch tubes l5, and the cut-out die it, but cooperates with the ribs H to prevent damage to the insole stock during the operation of impressing the corrugations or grooves into the insole. It is believed that never before has a paper backing been-provided for carrying out simultaneously perforating and indenting operations upon the sole. The mechanism for advancing the paper strip 22, is not herein shown since it forms no part of the invention, but it will be understood that between operative movements of the bed plate the strip is advanced sufficiently to present a fresh surface in line with the individual punch tubes. It will be apparent that the insoles may be presented in pairs to the press and that a right and left insole are simultaneously operated upon, although when insoles of composition material are dealt with a right or Upon removal from the press the insole is made ready for use by the placing in the cut-out 21, a circular insert 28, of felt or other flexible fibrous material. Ordinarily this will require no securing means, but will be slightly compressed laterally and thus held in place by the walls of the cut-out 21. I prefer to use felt in this location since it is light, absorbent and non-wrinkling and provides a cushion beneath the foot of the wearer which supplements to some extent the cushion eflect ofthe perforations in the insole.

In Fig. 4, the complete insole 24 is shown as incorporated in a shoe 20 having an outsole. 1i, and it will be apparent that the grooves 25 are thus located in the most effective position in the shoe to facilitate the flexing under the foot of -the wearer, while. the other features described tend to prevent the gradual building up of transverse ridges during repeated flexing. In the flnished'shoes the insole 24 is covered by a sock lining 29 and the felt insert 2! is held in place As already noted the three operations of grooving, perforating and forming the cut-out 21 are performed while the sole is retained in the same position, but the method of my invention goes further than that and provides a procedure whereby these three operations may be simultaneously performed, thus insuring accuracy in the product and great economy of time.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. An improved insole having in the ball portion of its outer face a series of parallel transverse grooves intersecting a relatively large cutout and a plurality of perforations distributed in said cut-out.

2. An improved flexible insole which will iiex without wrinkling, having a band of parallel transverse grooves impressed in the ball portion of its outer face and a relatively large, centrally disposed circular cut-out which is intersected by the intermediate grooves of said band and not by the marginal grooves thereof.

3. An improved insole adapted tone: in use without wrinkling, having a band of transverse grooves formed in the ball portion of one face and a relatively large symmetrically shaped cutout which is intersected by some of said transverse grooves and contains an insert of felt-like material.

4. An improved insole adapted to flexin use without wrinkling, having a wide band of closeset transverse grooves impressed in one face and a circular cut-out located substantially centrally both in said band and width-wise in said sole. and a felt-like insert contained in said cut-out.

5. An improved ventilated insole having a well defined band of close-set transverse depressions in one face, acut-out of substantial size so located as to interrupt some of said depressions and containing a felt-like insert, and a group of smaller perforations in the insole surrounding said outout.

FRANK S. MEES. 

